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Would Today's Teens Take a Space Odyssey?

by Heather Mason Kiefer, Contributing Editor

In January 2004, shortly after two unmanned rovers began
transmitting photographs to Earth from the surface of Mars,
President George W. Bush announced his administration's intention
to rejuvenate the nation's space program. Bush's plan is to return
American astronauts to the moon between 2015 and 2020, and to
eventually send a manned space mission to Mars. In Bush's words,
"With the experience and knowledge gained on the moon, we will then
be ready to take the next steps of space exploration -- human
missions to Mars and to worlds beyond."

If the United States succeeds in sending a manned mission to the
moon, or even to Mars, in the next two decades, today's generation
of teenagers may be part of those missions. Are American teens up
to the challenge? The most recent Gallup Youth Survey* asked U.S.
teens if -- given the chance -- they would like to visit the moon
and/or Mars. Teens seem slightly more enthusiastic about the
prospect of going to the moon than going to Mars.

A majority of teens, 59%, either "strongly agree" or "somewhat
agree" with the statement, "If given the chance, I would like to go
to the moon someday." Forty percent of teens "strongly" or
"somewhat" disagree. But when presented with a more lofty ambition
-- "If given the chance, I would like to be the first person to go
to Mars" -- teens are a bit more likely to be apprehensive. Only
48% agree, while 50% disagree.

Since Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in
1983, more women have taken part in space missions, and one has
even commanded a space shuttle. However, the fact remains that most
astronauts are men. This may explain why boys seem to be more eager
than girls to go to the moon and Mars. Seventy-four percent of boys
told Gallup they want to go to the moon someday, compared with 43%
of girls. About two-thirds (64%) of boys would like to be the first
person on Mars, as would less than a third (31%) of girls.

Bottom Line

The 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, portrayed a
21st century in which space travel was commonplace.
We're still a long way from that reality, but achieving it within
our lifetimes is not outside the realm of possibility. And while
many teens are willing to embrace a future that includes space
travel, it appears that a significant proportion would be happy to
live out their days with their feet solidly planted here on
Earth.

*The Gallup Youth Survey is conducted via an Internet
methodology provided by Knowledge Networks, using an online
research panel that is designed to be representative of the entire
U.S. population. The current questionnaire was completed by 785
respondents, aged 13 to 17, between Jan. 22 and March 9, 2004. For
results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence
that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage
points.

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